Summary: #1 in "Let Us" Series

INTRO: (Having just concluded a series on God’s promises to us, we are going to

look at a series now calling us to respond to God’s love for us, it is the "LET

US" series...each message comes from a passage that is a call to all believers

in responding to God, a call to "LET US.....")

If you have ever watched the Olympics on TV. you have probably been amazed

at the feats the human body is capable of doing! It has always amazed me how

some of these people have spent their entire childhood preparing for a single

event that in some cases is over within a few minutes! The amount of training

and sacrifice is enormous...all for a single goal....a Gold medal and world wide

recognition that you are the best in humanity in that particular thing!

Since we are striving toward a more eternal reward, and more important

recognition by God, are we as willing to make the appropriate sacrifices and

practice the necessary discipline? This is Paul’s (or whoever wrote Hebrews, possibly Barnabus) point in this passage. The writer has in mind the same thing that we have witnessed every 4 years, for the Olympics were taking place already in the Apostolic age.

We have a more important prize than mere gold, and more important recognition than just that of this world to consider .... are we taking

seriously our walk with God?

PROP. SENT: The Bible teaches us that we must be prepared to examine and discipline our lives appropriately if we are to be a disciple of Christ. Salvation

is not just a momentary experience at an altar, it is a lifestyle as well.

I. SELF DISCIPLINE 12:1-3

A. Fervent 12:1

1. Examples: This is the meaning of the word for "witnesses"

a. They are not the spectators of us, rather, they are the examples put

before us...we are to look to them!

b. This is meant to be an encouragement...their examples witness to us

that we can and should be fervent and faithful.

c. We are literally surrounded by these examples: Both Old Testament

and New Testament as well as contemporary examples of faith.

d. It is almost as if the writer here has in mind the champions mentioned

in chapter 11 (the Faith chapter), and like in the Olympics they are

standing before us with their medals (or wreathes) on spurring us on

to dream of winning too...thus encouraging us to strive by their examples.

2. Excesses: The example they set for us is to encourage us to "throw off everything that hinders..."

a. The idea here is to encourage those who wish to win the race to get rid

of those things that will slow us down or prevent us from competing

seriously!

b. The word for "throw off" implies in Greek excess body bulk! It may also

refer to the heavy garments one wears that must be "thrown off" as one

prepares to make the run.

c. Everyone knows what extra baggage can do to a runner in a race....no

serious runner would ever consider carrying around extra baggage when

they are competing to win.

d. This is the essence of "SELF DISCIPLINE"....it is our responsibility

before God to cast aside those things that become serious extra baggage.

e. self discipline is needed to even get started!

ILLUS: I spent a fortune - On a trampoline, A stationary bike - And a rowing machine Complete with gadgets - To read my pulse, And gadgets to prove My progress results,

And others to show - The miles I’ve charted -- But they left off the gadget - To get me started!

3. Entanglements: the "sin that so easily entangles us" here is the sin of NO

DISCIPLINE!

a. how easily this sin strikes our lives!

b. Without this there can be no success in a race

c. There has yet to be a world champion that never practiced!

d. The Christian life doesn’t just happen, it comes as the fruit of self

disciples along with God’s graces.

e. Too much of the time we wait around for something spiritual to happen

to our lives, we should be preparing always for those spiritual things to

take place in our lives. A runner does not wait for the goal line to come

to him, he goes to it!

B. Focus 12:2-3

1. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus..."

a. Here is where our focus should be!

b. Good runners never look around them while they are running, this

distracts them and causes them to lose their own pacing!

(1. too often Christians do this today...we make decisions to drop out

of this or that Church, or this or that ministry based on someone else that we are looking at....this is wrong!

Thank you for your sermon. I am a new believer in Christ and am just starting to sincerely study. I am reading Hebrews 12. I started reading it about an hour ago and haven't finished the first sentence yet. First I looked up a great cloud of witnesses and then let us throw off everything that hinders until I found your sermon. I prefer reading vs video so the text you offer with your sermon is nice.